Jon Heder Recreates Napoleon Dynamite Tater Tots Scene 20 Years Later (Exclusive) ArticlePure

Jon Heder is a die-hard tater tots fan in real life.

The star of the 2004 cult classic Napoleon Dynamite spoke with PEOPLE about how his love of tater tots has withstood two decades since the film premiered. And to celebrate the movie’s 20th anniversary, Heder teamed up with Ore-Ida to recreate one of the movie’s most iconic scenes.

“What? Go get your own,” Heder sarcastically says in the brand’s short film (above) in partnership with Searchlight Pictures. In the video, he’s seen with Napoleon’s trademark red curly hair and clear aviator glasses.

In the iconic film scene, class bully Randy yells “Gimme some of your tots!” before kicking Napoleon’s pocket and smashing his beloved snacks. To combat any unfortunate future fights, Ore-Ida created hilarious “tot-protecting pants” that Heder wears in the video. Of course, they resemble his cozy joggers in the film – but they also have a bright red pocket for safe-tot-keeping. Starting June 17, fans can snag a limited-edition pair on ProtectYourTaterTots.com while supplies last.

Heder tells PEOPLE he enjoyed bringing the lovable teenager back to life so many years after he played the role. 

“It’s always fun throwing back on the jeans and the moon boots and the glasses,” Heder, 46, says. “But it feels more like a fantasy role than it did 20 years ago when it felt more like, ‘Okay, I’m closer to the actual age of Napoleon. This is my real hair. This is my world. It wasn’t that long ago when I was sitting at my own desk in school drawing dragons and unicorns.’ ”

Heder, who followed up his Napoleon Dynamite performance with big roles in The Benchwarmers and Blades of Glory, mentioned that many parts of Napoleon’s character overlapped with who he was at the time — especially his favorite snacks. 

“This movie was very personal to me. I felt so much just lined up, I was like, ‘Yeah, I love tots.’ There’s so many things that Napoleon liked or that he did and I was like, ‘Yeah, these are the kind of things I did,'” he says. 

Over the course of two decades, Heder says he runs into some hilarious situations while ordering tater tots at restaurants.

“Nine out of 10 times, I’ll order the tots because they’re great — I love them. But especially right after the movie when I was much more recognized, people would be looking at me like, ‘Are you going to get some tots?’” he adds. “And there’s that part of you who wants to say, ‘No, I’m an actor. It’s just a movie.’ But I’m like, ‘Yeah, of course I do. Tots are incredible.’”

Another memorable moment from Napoleon Dynamite, which turned 20 on June 11, is the scene between Napoleon and Tina, a fussy llama. Heder tells PEOPLE that when they arrived on location to shoot the Ore-Ida ads, a “magical thing” happened: a llama was waiting for them.

“There’s a llama literally sitting perched down, just hunkered in the shade of a tree. And he’s directly behind me in the shot for almost the entire day we were shooting. Nobody [from the crew] put it there,” Heder adds. “It felt like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is perfect.’”

In February, Heder and some of the other actors from Napoleon Dynamite, including Efren Ramirez and John Gries, met up in Orlando for a celebration of the movie’s 20th year. Following a screening, an audience member asked Heder where he thought all of the characters would be now. 

“I think it’s not looking very good for most of them,” he joked in response. “Napoleon is probably paying child support to two different moms, with two different kids … maybe Trisha was a fling.”

When asked about a sequel to the hit comedy, Heder says that although there’s nothing in the works, he has an open mind.

“Anything’s possible as long as we’re alive and kicking around. Normally I tell people, no, I’m not making any promises because there’s no plans for a sequel. But I don’t think the book of Napoleon is closed for good is kind of just my gut feeling,” Heder says.